5.  The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Ankaran. He owns a bar located in Koper, Slovenia.
6.  On 14 November 2008 the Market Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter referred to as “the Inspectorate”) issued a notice informing the applicant that he had been accused of operating his bar at 2.15 a.m. on 1 June 2008, which was allegedly outside regular opening hours. The Inspectorate also noted that this information had been received from Koper Police Station. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Minor Offences Act governing summary proceedings, the applicant was requested to submit a written statement within five days.
7.  On 19 November 2008 the applicant submitted a written statement in which he disputed the allegation that his bar had been open at 2.15 a.m. He further pointed out that there had been no customers in the bar at that time and that the police had not approached him when the alleged offence had been observed. He proposed that he and two employees who had worked in the bar that evening be heard by the court.
8.  On 25 November 2008 the Inspectorate, without examining the applicant or the proposed witnesses, issued a decision finding the applicant guilty of committing a regulatory offence under point 3 of section 21(1) of the Hospitality Industry Act. As regards the opening hours, it referred to the “Rules on criteria for determining opening hours of restaurant facilities and farms providing hospitality services” (hereinafter referred to as “the Rules”) and section 12 of the Hospitality Industry Act, and noted that the applicant’s bar had operated beyond the statutory opening hours without having requested an extension of opening hours (see paragraph 24 below). It imposed a fine of 1,200 euros (EUR) and ordered the reimbursement of costs in the amount of EUR 100. It also drew the applicant’s attention to the possibility of imprisonment if the fine was not paid.
9.  On 28 November 2008 the applicant lodged a request for judicial review in which he alleged that the facts had been wrongly established and that his rights enshrined in Article 29 of the Slovenian Constitution had been violated. He disputed the allegation that his bar had been open and that he had had customers at the time in question. He emphasised, among other things, that the police had not approached him on the date the offence had allegedly been committed and that he and the witnesses had not subsequently had an opportunity to be heard by the Inspectorate. Moreover, the decision had not provided any explanation as to why his proposal to give evidence had been rejected; nor had it stated the permitted opening hours for the applicant’s bar or specified the time during which he had allegedly been in breach of the relevant regulation. The applicant again proposed that he and the aforementioned witnesses be heard by the court.
10.  As the Koper Local Court, which was competent to decide on the applicant’s request, was experiencing a substantial backlog, the applicant’s case was transferred to the Ilirska Bistrica Local Court, which on 12 January 2010, referring to section 65 of the Minor Offences Act, delivered a judgment rejecting the applicant’s request. It took into account the notice of 14 November 2008, the impugned decision and “the facts, which had been directly observed by police officers on the spot.” The court found that the circumstances of the alleged offence had been properly established by the Inspectorate and that the applicant had had an opportunity to express his opinion on the charges but had not taken it. It also found that the Inspectorate had adequately addressed the issue of bar opening hours for owners who did not have a licence for extended opening hours. The court drew the applicant’s attention to the fact that no appeal lay against the judgment. The judgment was served on the applicant on 26 January 2010.
11.  On 15 March 2010 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal. Relying on Article 29 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the Convention, he alleged in particular that his defence rights had been breached in that he had not had an opportunity to adduce evidence or to be heard before the court. In addition, he complained that the Ilirska Bistrica Local Court had come to a different decision from the Koper Local Court on the same matter (see paragraph 20 below). Lastly, the applicant maintained that the issue at stake concerned the minimum safeguards that should be respected in summary proceedings, and was therefore of constitutional importance. He pointed out that sanctions in regulatory offences were often more severe than those in traditional criminal proceedings, and the accused had considerably fewer procedural rights and no remedies apart from judicial review.
12.  The Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s constitutional appeal on 6 January 2011, referring to point three of section 55b (1) of the Constitutional Court Act, read together with point four of section 55a (2) of that Act. The Constitutional Court’s decision was served on the applicant on 12 January 2011.
13.  On 13 November 2008 the Inspectorate issued a notice informing the applicant that he had been accused of operating his bar on 5 October 2008 at 3.45 a.m., which was allegedly outside regular opening hours. The Inspectorate also noted that this information had been received from Koper Police Station. The applicant was asked to submit a written statement within five days, in accordance with section 55 (4) of the Minor Offences Act.
14.  On 19 November 2008 the applicant submitted a written statement in which he disputed the allegation that his bar had been open at 3.45 a.m. and submitted that a private party had been held there. He also maintained that the police had not approached him when the alleged offence had been observed. Lastly, the applicant proposed that he and two employees who had been working in the bar during the evening be heard.
15.  On 26 November 2008 the Inspectorate, without examining the applicant or the proposed witnesses, issued a decision finding the applicant guilty of committing a regulatory offence under point 3 of section 21 (1) of the Hospitality Industry Act. As regards the opening hours, it referred to the Rules and section 12 of the Hospitality Industry Act and noted that the applicant’s bar had been open beyond the statutory opening hours without requesting a license for extended opening hours. It imposed a fine of EUR 1,200 euros and ordered the reimbursement of costs in the amount of EUR 100. It also drew the applicant’s attention to the possibility of imprisonment for failure to pay the fine.
16.  On 1 December 2008 the applicant lodged a request for judicial review in which he alleged that the facts had been wrongly established and that his rights enshrined in Article 29 of the Slovenian Constitution had been violated. He disputed the allegation that the bar had been open at the time in question and emphasised, among other things, that the police had not approached him on the day the offence was allegedly committed, and that he and the witnesses had not subsequently been heard by the Inspectorate. Moreover, the decision had not provided any explanation as to why his proposal to give evidence had been rejected. The applicant again proposed that he and the aforementioned witnesses be heard by the court.
17.  Also in this case the jurisdiction was transferred to the Ilirska Bistrica Local Court, which on 12 January 2010, referring to section 65 of the Minor Offences Act, delivered a judgment rejecting the applicant’s request for judicial review. It took account of the notice of 13 November 2008, the impugned decision, the applicant’s statement of 19 November 2008 and the facts in the case which had been directly observed by police officers on the spot. The court found that the circumstances of the alleged offence had been properly established by the police and that the applicant had had an opportunity to express his opinion on the charges. The court noted that “the applicant had alleged that there had been a private party in the bar which he had not organised”. It found that the Inspectorate had adequately addressed the issue of bar opening hours for owners who did not have a licence for extended opening hours. The court also drew the applicant’s attention to the fact that no appeal lay against the judgment. The judgment was served on the applicant on 26 January 2010.
18.  On 15 March 2010 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal adducing the same arguments as in the first set of proceedings.
19.  On 6 January 2011 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s constitutional appeal. The decision was served on the applicant on 12 January 2011.
20.  In the third set of proceedings concerning another offence of operating the bar beyond regular opening hours, on 17 September 2008 the Koper Local Court upheld the applicant’s request for judicial review of the Inspectorate’s decision concerning the offence which had allegedly been committed at 1.40 a.m. on 2 December 2007. The Koper Local Court quashed the Inspectorate’s decision on the grounds that it lacked any information as to the applicant’s registered opening hours. This information was, in the court’s view, essential in establishing whether the bar had been open beyond the registered opening hours.